


Unfortunate Circumstance

by amiluna



Series: Unfortunate Circumstance [1]
Category: Black Clover - 田畠裕基 | Tabata Yuki
Genre: Bargaining, Courting Rituals, Dominance, F/F, F/M, Human Trafficking, Jealousy, Kidnapping, M/M, Possessive Behavior, Submission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-04 16:32:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14597103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amiluna/pseuds/amiluna
Summary: If Yuno had never managed to trick Father into thinking he was going off with Asta to see the matchmaker, how would his fate have played out? This is the answer to the unfortunate circumstance awaiting him in the nearby future.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know this may be unoriginal, but I could not get this story out of head and I need to write it out before I can move on to another work I have in mind. Hopefully this is enjoyable!

All of his life Yuno never had his submissive status become a problem for him. He had been treated as a dominant all of his life by the other children and none ever once suspected he was a submissive. He wasn't ever approached by dominants or courted by them, which means so long as his secret remains kept it will never become a problem for him. It isn't until recently it became one for him.

A few weeks ago, Father had overheard him and Asta training. Father at first thought nothing of it, but then he heard Yuno say he wants to become the next Wizard King and join the magic knights. That is when Father overreacted and told him he would not be doing such things, instead telling him he would meet with the famous matchmaker, Harmonia Walz. Yuno tried to get Father to change his mind, but his mind was already set. Yuno had been lucky enough to even get the man to say he could still go to the ceremony to receive his grimoire.

It is on this warm, sunny day he finally received his grimoire: the legendary four leaf clover grimoire. Even after seeing this, Father still won't allow him to join the magic knights, which is a crushing blow to him. He spends a long time trying to recover from this, but it's to no avail. It seems their world truly is a dominants world after all... He is then quickly snapped out of his thoughts by an encounter he will never forget.

A man uses his chain magic to bind him and steal his grimoire. However, Yuno is nearing his cycle. This means the mage with a sharp eye for detail could see his true aura color.

"...A submissive, huh? How very, very delightful. Tell me, what is a pretty submissive like you doing out so late, alone?" the man begins with a lecherous stance as he approaches Yuno, "You really should be more careful. So many big, bad dominants would love to ravish and break pretty little submissives like yourself."

Yuno cowers subtly out of his submissive instinct, his eyes downcast from the intent stare of the dominant before him, "I have every right to go out at any time I please alone. If a dominant can, why can't I?"

"Oh pretty submissive...you just don't know how wrong you are! Big bad wolves are always waiting around corners to take submissives."

Had Asta not come then, he'd be...no, he won't think of it that way. Especially not since Asta, his rival, had to come in and save him again!

Okay, so declaring Asta as his rival out loud makes the man laugh, but Asta does recover from his beat down and he does obtain a grimoire...

Even Asta has a better shot at being the next Wizard King over him? Life as a submissive officially sucks!

Asta saves him with his sword and returns his grimoire to him with a cocky smirk on his face, "You're welcome."

Yuno smiles in response, his golden eyes showing his own sadness, "Good luck on becoming the next Wizard King, Asta. I'm sorry I can't come with you."

"Yuno, don't let it get you down! Father is only doing what's best for you and he's just...afraid for your safety, that's all." Asta tries to explain in a soft voice, but it doesn't do anything to ease Yuno's own distress.

"My safety? You never had any magic power but because you're a dominant, who's the same age as me, you can somehow handle yourself better? It's backwards logic, Asta, I can hold my own just fine!" Yuno then exhales, his next words being calm but empty, "I'm sorry, Asta, I don't want to be bonded off. I want to be the next Wizard King, but I can't become one if I'm bonded. By law, I'll become the property of my dominant. I don't want to do it."

Asta looks at him in concern, "Do you want me to stay so you won't be taken away or bonded?"

Yuno rejects this immediately, not wanting Asta to give up his dream, "No, you should go. I will be fine with Ms. Harmonia. Apparently, I'll be taken to the area where the magic knights entrance exam will be held, so at least I'll be bonded off to someone with good status."

Asta comes up with a crazy idea on the spot, "Yuno, Father says Harmonia will be here in four days. It takes five days on foot to get to the magic knights entrance exam. When you come there with her, I will break you out of there and take you to the entrance exam with me!"

"Asta, I'll be in the same area but not right by it." Yuno responds skeptically, "Besides, how will you know where she will be at?"

"I can ask around for you. Don't worry, Yuno, I will get you out of this."

"Thank you, Asta."

They return home after this conversation, not seeing what was coming their way.

The following morning, Asta leaves to take the magic knights entrance exam whereas Yuno is stuck dealing with his Father telling the other kids of his submissive status.

Nash is the worst one to have learning this, "I knew it! That's why you always cried when you were younger."

The other kids simply stared at him in awe, "Ooh, look a real life submissive! He doesn't have grey aura either like Father and Sister Lilly."

Yuno tries to not feel like a zoo animal right now, but it's hard to do with all of the dominants staring, commenting, and asking him invasive questions such as: is that why your hips are a little bit curved, when will you be bonded, and can you get pregnant?

Yuno is stunned by the last question, "What? I cannot get pregnant! What makes you think I can?"

"Nash thinks you have girly parts and that's why you don't bathe with anyone else." the little girl with the dark hair says to him so innocently.

Of course it's Nash polluting their minds with rumors and some truth...

Nash is grinning sheepishly to this admission, "So Yuno, do you have girly parts?"

He has nothing to say to this, but Father does, "Yes, he does, but it doesn't make him odd or bad. It means he's a rare submissive. When I was a young man, our kingdom was in war. Our old Wizard King used submissives in battle during a moment's desperation and many of them were ones like Yuno. So many of them died in those battles and worse."

Yuno can tell he's unsettled by this, but then he sees his father sigh, "Alright, that is enough for today. No more talking about Yuno being a submissive: if anyone in this area knows he is one, he could get kidnapped and we don't want that, right?"

The kids all agree and go off to their rooms to go to bed. Yuno approaches his father in this moment, asking him, "You were in that war, weren't you? You saw submissives like me die."

"Not just die...I saw them being forcibly bonded and raped, sold off as sex slaves. It horrifies me to think that could be you one day, Yuno. That's why I will not allow you to join the magic knights. I'm sorry, but I don't want you to be brutalized by an unbonded dominant on the battlefield." Father is shaking, his eyes downcast, "You deserve better than that. I don't want you dying over a dominant's fragile ego."

Yuno nods in understanding, deciding to not debate with him because he looks so shaken, "I understand, Father."

"Good, now get to bed. I don't want you to fall down the steps again if your cycle starts tonight."

Yuno does listen and he does get to bed, but only because he's excited to know Asta has a plan for him. He will get out of this unbonded. Asta has never failed him before and he won't start doing so now.


	2. Chapter 2

His cycle has not happened yet but he knows it is coming soon. Yuno is happy it didn't come last night or this morning. However, he was not expecting to find a six foot tall woman with long, wavy golden hair and innocent looking grass green eyes, donned up in a pink tulle mini dress with matching one inch heels and a white wide brim hat.

"Ah yes, you must be the submissive! Hello Yuno, I am Harmonia Walz, the matchmaker of royals, the best of the best in the Clover Kingdom." Harmonia greets him with a smile, her pink painted lips showing a row of perfect teeth with her white gloved hand extending out to shake his own.

He takes her hand and she does shake it, her eyes never leaving his body, "You don't mind if I examine you in private, correct? This is essential to finding your soul partner."

"Father..." Yuno begins hesitantly, uncomfortable with the very suggestion of it.

Father does come to his defense rather quickly, "Um, Harmonia...why is this essential to finding his soul partner?"

Harmonia gasps audibly, smacking her hand on her forehead, "Oh silly me, I should've explained more! You see, I want Yuno's soul partner to accept him as is without any reservations to ensure a happy bonding. That and so many male submissives lie about being rares so I will come to see them, it's more for quality assurance than anything else."

Yuno isn't too happy with it, but then Harmonia tells him, "If you cannot prove to me you're telling the truth on his being a rare, then I will leave immediately. I work with rare males only."

Yuno doesn't want to lose his chance to have Asta find him and get him into the entrance exams. This means he pushes aside all discomfort and says, "Alright, you can examine me."

"Splendid! Where do you want to do this at?" she asks with a curious eye.

Yuno sees the mischievous look on Nash's face and makes his decision on the spot, "My room works great for me."

"Wonderful, show me the way, Yuno."

She's so... _cheerful_. It's off-putting to him, but he pushes his feelings aside. He needs to do this to get to the entrance exam, he can't stop now all because of some bad feelings he has about her.

Once inside his room, she instructs him, "Alright, all you will need to do is take off your pants and lie down on your bed."

He once more pushes aside all discomfort to do as she says. He is not giving up his goals all because he cannot handle being half naked around this woman!

He does exactly as she says, surprised to feel something...cold going inside him. He twitches pretty hard to this, but then something hits a bundle of nerves just right and...

She's done now, pulling out a long crystal covered in liquid he knows a bit too well, "Huh, so you really are a real rare? That's great news for me and you at this point. Congratulations Yuno, you are my latest client."

He's trying to catch his breath, but he does manage to question her, "What did you do to me?"

She hums to this nonchalantly, watching idly as the crystal vanishes, "It was nothing bad, it was just a test to see if you are a real rare or not. What I did was insert a crystal specifically designed to hit your g-spot and make you orgasm. If you had used magic to disguise your genitalia, it would wore off immediately. If you had used magic to alter it, it would have reversed the alterations. Since you are a real rare, it made you orgasm."

Yuno feels so violated upon hearing this. He's not sure for a moment there if he can go through with this plan.

Then she asks him before he can make a move to clean himself, "You orgasmed really quick though...do you masturbate ever or are you a total inexperienced virgin?"

Yuno's stunned expression says it all for her, "Oh, okay then, I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I should clean you up, we wouldn't want you all sticky and gross down there."

He doesn't get the chance to reject her because she's already using her flower magic to wipe away at the mess that was made. Harmonia comments off handedly to him after he moans, "You're nearing your cycle, right? That's why you're so hypersensitive now, huh? Don't worry, I can fix this."

She uses a second of the same crystal on him, forcing another orgasm out of him, and slips a emerald cuff on his wrist, "This will not stop the drop in your magic power, but it will delay your cycle."

He is able to handle the cleaning without incident after this. He gets his pants back on and lays on his bed, holding his pillow close to his chest as he really ponders if he can actually go through with the plan.

No, he has to if he ever wants Asta to free him. If he ever wants to become the Wizard King, he has to do this, no matter how hard or violating it becomes for him.

He gets out of his bed after this thought, but before he can leave his room, his father is entering it.

"Yuno, are you alright?" he asks the dark haired boy, "I heard you...I didn't know what was going on. If she did anything untoward you, I won't let you go. I'll keep you here, safe and sound. Nash could be your new primary keeper."

Yuno thinks about telling him the truth, telling him how violated he feels at the moment, but he holds off on it. He wants to become the Wizard King, how can he do it if he doesn't take the entrance exam?

(That and having Nash as a primary keeper is just so...disturbing.)

"I'm fine, Father, it was nothing. I want to go with Miss Harmonia."

Father appears to be surprised, "Are you sure, Yuno? You're at the age where I am no longer legally your primary keeper. If you go with her, by law, your fate is in the hands of your soul partner."

"I'm positive. I'll be fine, Father." he reassures his father but also himself. He won't allow his fear and unease get in the way of his dreams. This is his only shot and he cannot refuse it.

"Alright, Yuno. I will miss you...please, be safe out there. Our world is still very much a dominant's world, please, be careful in it." Father requests of him in a gentle voice as he hugs him tightly.

Yuno nods, knowing he will miss the man very much and how hard this is for him right now, "I will be, Father. Don't worry, I'll write you."

"Ah, you don't have to! I wouldn't want to spoil your fun with your dominant." Father chuckles, "Still, it would be nice if you did."

"I will, don't worry."

Father takes him down stairs, holding his hand in a shaking grip. He then leads him outside to where Harmonia is at with her white carriage, "Well Yuno, are you ready to meet your soul partner?"

Yuno nods as confidently as he can in this situation, "I am."

"Excellent! Say goodbye to your home now, it will be a while before you come back with your dominant." Harmonia speaks in bouncy, cheerful tone that still rubs Yuno the wrong way.

He says his goodbyes to the other orphans (even Nash, who manages to ruin a sweet moment with: "If you moan like that over a crystal, your dominant will sure love you. Just remember to be louder and more wanton when he fucks you."), Sister Lilly, and finally, Father, who hugs him tightly.

"Stay safe, Yuno."

"I will, Father."

He then leaves with his matchmaker after she manages to pry Father's arms off of him. The moment they are far away enough, the back seat of the carriage suddenly forms cuffs that bind him down by his ankles and wrists.

"Did I forget to tell you and your father, submissive?" Harmonia begins in her cheery voice, "I'm not a traditional matchmaker. I'm more of a savvy businesswoman who makes her living by selling off female and rare male submissives to the highest bidders from nobility, royalty, and the upper echelons of the black market. You're the first rare male I've ever had in my possession. Once I sell you off, I can retire and live like a queen with my harem of submissive females."

Yuno tries to use his magic, but finds it hard to do so, "Oh I'm sorry, but the cuff doesn't stop your magic power from being drained by your nearing cycle."

Yuno then asks her out of his shock, "Why are submissives like me considered rare or valuable? I'm not the only one with a female anatomy, there are others. This is no real reason to sell me off, Miss Walz!"

Harmonia laughs to this statement, her words being blunt as day, "Simple: your kind are rare because only fertile male submissives with female anatomies can birth submissives like yourself. It's a purely inherited trait, one that can't be changed or induced by magic. In the Clover and Diamond Kingdom, the previous Wizard Kings used submissives like you in the frontline of war with many of them being raped to death or tortured to death by forcibly induced cycles. Very few of your kind survived, let alone lived long enough to be your age. It's why you are so rare and valuable."

Yuno is horrified to hear this information because Father never told him as much. He understands why he never did, the man had fought in those wars and was traumatized for life. This being said, he wishes he would have at least told him this.

Harmonia then sighs dreamily, "Ah, yes, I will make a great killing off of you! I can see it now: wondrous castle, with my harem being dominated by me until they can't speak."

Before Yuno can object, the carriage is caught in mid air. Yuno looks out the window to see a giant rock hand holding the carriage in it's grasp.

He then sees a woman coming out of another rock hand, her smile disturbing to him and her appearance oddly similar to Harmonias.

She too is at least six feet tall in her one inch cranberry red heels, with her gloves and wide brim hat all in black. Her tulle mini dress is a cranberry red color and her hair is a long wavy dark red. Her lips are painted cranberry red, but her eyes are an openly hostile concrete grey.

"Hello Harmonia! It's been a while, hasn't it?" she begins in a friendly tone, "Rumour has it you found a rare submissive."

"Discordia, it has been too long! Ah, but I'm afraid you've heard wrong. I don't possess any rare in my hand." Harmonia replies with faux disappointment in her voice.

Discordia gives her a look of doubt, her stance strong, "Really? Because from what I saw back at the church, you do have one and it's the only I've ever seen."

Harmonia makes a move to attack, but Discordia is quicker on her feet, using her magic to summon up enough rock to kill Harmonia's flowers. Harmonia is thrown off of her carriage and Discordia uses the rock hand's fingers to tear down the walls and roof of the carriage. Discordia approaches him, a grin on her lips as she meets his eyes, "Hello submissive, I'm Discordia Volz, your new matchmaker."

Yuno is then taken off of the carriage's seat only to be wrapped up in a thread of rock before being taken over to the other rock hand Discordia appeared on. The rock swallows them whole with Harmonia screaming all the while.


	3. Chapter 3

The day of the entrance exam, Harmonia isn't really anywhere to be seen. Asta is getting worried for Yuno, but he still trudges on through the entrance exam anyway. Despite getting on the Black Bulls, Asta felt worried for Yuno.

He couldn't get him out of his mind as all he thought of was whether or not Yuno is safe. Was he bonded already? Did Harmonia go elsewhere for the matchmaking?

He sees her after the exams are over, looking distressed as all get out. Her hair was a mess, her hat, gloves, and shoes are dirty and even her dress has tears and tatters in it.

"You, magic knight boy! I need your assistance immediately!" she all but short of screams, "I had a submissive stolen from me...he was a rare one from Hage village."

Asta's eyes widen, "Yuno! Yuno was stolen? Who did it, where is he at?"

Harmonia begins with a small exhale, "Her name is Discordia Volz, she is a matchmaker for the Diamond Kingdom. She stole him with her rock magic and I don't know where she went."

Asta is pissed off as well as worried. Yuno is a rare submissive, Asta knows this means he could get hurt far worse than an average submissive. Which is why he needs to find him as soon as possible.

"Harmonia, I'll find him. Just tell me where he was taken, okay?" Asta begins but then Yami speaks up, "Whoa there, kid. Are you sure you want to take this case on? Discordia Volz works in the Diamond Kingdom. This means she's more than likely taken him there to sell him off to dominants in the same way Harmonia was going to do to him here."

Asta nods firmly, making his case crystal clear, "I am taking this on! Yuno is my friend and I won't let him down. Yuno is a rare submissive too, the only one for miles around in our area. If he gets hurt, I couldn't live with myself."

"Ah fucking hell kid...William! Asta wants to save his rare submissive friend. Do you know of anyone on your squad who could detect Discordia Volz or the submissive?" Yami shouts out to his lover.

Of course, while anyone else would be feeling embarrassed, William instead feels his interest piqued. He approaches the scene between the three of them with an interested gaze in his eyes, but then his answer isn't one Yami wanted to hear, "I'm afraid I don't. Mimosa can only track a submissive if she's seen them before and as it stands, she's the only one on my squadron who could. You could try asking Charlotte or Silva, but then I don't think they'd help you anyway. I'm sorry Asta, I hope you save your submissive friend."

Yami sighs, but then comes up with his own solution, "Actually...there's no need for that. I could send Asta with Luck to track down Discordia and the submissive...then I could have Magna there to keep him in line."

William's purple eyes widen in disapproval, "Yami, you really cannot go to Charlotte, Rills, or Silva for help? You'd resort to using that sick creep to aid in this matter? Really?"

"Say what you will, but he's the best around at sensing mana...that and he's great at spotting out a submissive from anywhere." Yami tries to subdue the disapproval in his submissive's eyes. However, it does very little to actually do so.

William holds in his inner outrage and instead walks away from the situation before he snaps at his soul partner in public, "Alright, I will leave you and your squadron to handle this situation. Good luck on your first mission, Asta. I hope it all goes by well."

"I hope it does too, sir. I won't stop until Yuno is brought home safe and sound!" Asta boldly proclaims before following Yami and Finral through the portal to the Black Bulls' headquarters.

Upon arrival to the castle, Yami makes no time for introductions. He instead calls over a warring Luck and Magna, "Luck, Magna get over here right now! I have a mission for you two to do."

Luck is instantly right there by his side and Magna is quick to follow, "What's going on, sir?"

"Asta's rare submissive friend has been kidnapped by Discordia Volz. I don't want to involve the other squads in this case, so hurry up and find his friend before he's auctioned off." Yami orders the two, with Magna looking as though he's somewhat interested and Luck...is too happy right now.

Luck immediately cackles in response, " _Yes_! A submissive, a rare one too, one I can _debase_ and _own_ and _control_ , _my_ submissive, _mine_ , _mine_ , _mine_!"

Yami should really be reconsidering having Luck go along instead of going to the other squads for help in this matter. However, he doesn't because he's stubborn in his ways. That and so long as Luck is not interested in William, he's fine with his creepy, disturbing, rapey behavior towards submissives.

Magna is one of the few in the Black Bulls who gets disturbed by him, a shudder going down his spine as Luck speaks with the most twisted, sadistic gleam in his eyes, "Sir, can we please not work together? Maybe keep me out of this and away from him."

Yami rolls his eyes to this plea, "Oh c'mon Magna, it's Discordia Volz, she's bound to be taking more submissives than just Asta's friend! I'm sure you could meet your soul partner from this and what better way for you to show her how a real man treats his woman, right?"

When put like that...Magna agrees to the job, "You are absolutely correct! Besides I can't leave my potential soul partner alone with this creep right here. Even insects deserve better than him and it's like what you said, I need to show her what a real man is like!"

"Great, now get going on it. I don't want William getting involved in this...it'll really put a wrench in our sex life." Yami comments before telling them, "If I were you, I'd start with the black market. Discordia has screwed over many primary keepers there and is well hated. I'm sure there's someone watching her every move, waiting to strike."

"Yes, Captain Yami!" Magna replies as Yami leaves the scene to go to his bed, "Alright, let's get going."

They do leave after a talk about Asta's initiation when they get this mission over with and Asta obsessing over how awesome Magna's broom is for five minutestes straight. By the time they do arrive at the black market, it's rather packed but upon asking merchants of Discordia Volz, they learn Yami was not lying.

Many of them want her dead for the wrong she did to their submissive daughters and are willing to do whatever it takes to see she faces the death penalty for kidnapping and selling off Clover Kingdom submissives in the Diamond Kingdom.

There is an old woman who feels particularly strong on this issue. She approaches them with a desperate gleam to her eyes, handing Asta a crystal ball, "Magic knight boy, please save my granddaughter! Discordia Volz stole her from me last week, but as it stands, I'm in no shape to bring her home. Please, please bring her home."

"I will miss, but...what is this ball supposed to do?" Asta asks because he's confused by it.

She tells him plainly, "It shows you the location of any one person you wish to find. However, a strand of the person's hair or thread from the clothes they wear is needed to make it work. Discordia left some of her hair in my home when she stole my granddaughter from me. Simply say, 'show me Discordia Volz' and the crystal ball will lead you to her."

Asta nods then, looking over to see Luck right by his side, being eerily quiet, "...Asta, do you have a thread from the clothes the submissive wears or a strand of his hair?"

Asta gives Luck the answer he doesn't want to hear, "...No, sorry Luck."

"Then go get some, Asta! I want to _see_ the rare, I want to _touch_ the rare, and when the time is right I want the rare in my room so I can finally _debase_ it!" Luck speaks with that creepily intense tone that has the old woman and Asta shivering in fear.

Magna approaches them then, his eyes rolling, "Luck, quit talking like a creep! What is this crystal ball for?"

"This lady has some of Discordia Volz's hair. Apparently if you put it in the crystal ball and say 'show me Discordia Volz' it will show you where she's at." Asta explains happily, but then Luck messes it up for them.

He burns the hair in his fingers, the smile on his face purely wicked, "Get me some of the rare's hair or a thread of his clothes. I want to see it, Asta, let me see the rare or else I'll kill you."

"Great...now we have to go to Hage to get a thread from a piece of his clothing!"

"Good, now I'll be able to see my rare submissive!"

Magna groans, telling Luck and Asta, "Get on the broom, you two! We have a village to get to."

 


	4. Chapter 4

Yuno has been with Discordia for...he doesn't know how long. Discordia collects submissives using her rock magic to sense out where they will be at. Of course, it cannot tell her the gender of the submissive so to help counter this flaw, she creates holes in the undergound tunnel to better hear what the submissive sounds like and if they are male, she rejects them. If they are female, she uses her rock magic to make a hole in the ground beneath the submissive to swallow them whole.

After this, the submissive is placed inside a private cell in a prison carriage where they are cuffed to their stone bed by their wrists, sometimes their ankles if they struggle too much.

Yuno knows Discordia wants at least fifty submissives before she heads on back to the Diamond Kingdom, but being stuck underground in her rock tunnel means this will take a much longer time than expected. According the matchmaker herself, she's wanted for the death penalty in the Clover Kingdom for stealing submissives and selling them off to Diamond Kingdom dominants. This is why she cannot risk going to the surface at the moment.

Which means Yuno cannot scream for help or even try to do anything to escape. He feels so sick too with having his cycle delayed by the emerald cuff on his wrist. He's tried asking Discordia to take the cuff off of his wrist, but she has not budged on it.

He feels light headed but he can't sleep. He feels too weak to move half the time and inside his cell, he's only cuffed by the wrist with the emerald cuff. He feels so unbearably hot on top of this, but his magic power is decreased severely today so he can't use any wind magic to cool down.

He tries to plead with Discordia to take off the cuff _please, I can't handle it_ , but the woman always says in response, "And allow you to have your cycle in my holding cell? No, you're a rare and when that cuff comes off, your cycle will start. I can make more money off of you when you're wet and needy for a dominant at the auction. I'm thinking I'll try to sell you off to our Wizard King in the Diamond Kingdom. He's single and looking for a rare...he's like, fifty though, so don't be too put off by it."

He's put off by it. He cannot stop thinking about how he's missed the entrance exam, how he will never be the next Wizard King, how he will always be a submissive meant to be bonded to a dominant! He's going to be bonded off to an old man he's not sure he'll even like, in an enemy nation, and he's terrified.

He wants to go back to Hage, back to Father, and away from this hell he's in. He feels so sick, so tired, and so sore all over.

Yuno wants to sleep, he wants to be able to move again, why is this happening?

(Oh wait, he's here right now because Father was scammed into thinking Harmonia Walz is a legitimate matchmaker.)

Yuno then hears a crash in the tunnel and he honestly hopes whatever happens next involves taking this cuff off of his wrist right now.

Then the prison carriage is broken into and he hears the sounds of the ten submissives taken after him being freed. His cell door is open next and it's not to Asta, but rather to a blonde, electric blue eyed dominant.

"Hello rare submissive, I'm here to free you and give you the release you need." the blonde mage begins as sparks of electricity burst off of his person in little jolts.

Yuno is freed from his restraint, the blonde mage staring at the emerald cuff curiously, "Wow...did Harmonia or Discordia do this to you?"

"Harmonia." Yuno breathes out as the cuff is removed from his wrist.

The electric mage clicks his tongue, "These are heavily illegal. They are seen as torture devices for submissives like you and female ones. If you had this on for too long, you could have died...but I'm here now and I will give you release!"

Yuno doesn't get to say much before he's being taken out of the cell and back on to the surface ground. He is being held by Luck whereas some guy with lavender and black hair is speaking to the other submissives to figure out what happened and where they live.

Then there's...Asta!

...Of course he made it as a magic knight. Who else but Asta could have pulled off such a feat?

The unconscious, severely injured Discordia is restrained in cuffs from what he can see and Asta is relieved to see him if the look on his face means anything.

"Yuno, are you alright?" Asta asks him instantly as he runs over to his side.

Yuno nods numbly, finally glad he's seeing someone familiar again, "I'll be fine now. Asta, I want to go home to Father. I don't want to see another matchmaker again so long as I live."

"Sure Yuno, whatever you want." Asta replies sympathetically.

"How did you manage to find me? You have no magic power." Yuno points out to him in a blunt manner.

Of course, Asta being the way he is, laughs it off, "Yeah, it wasn't easy...Harmonia reported you missing to me two days ago right after I passed the entrance exam and became a Black Bull. Captain Yami allowed me to go find you right away with my squadmates Magna and Luck. We could have found you earlier using a crystal ball, but Luck kinda fucked it up for us."

The blonde holding him tightly interjects to this, "Ah Asta, it wasn't that bad! I've tried to buy submissives from Discordia and Harmonia in the past only to be rejected. I can sense their mana from anywhere, so we technically didn't need that crystal ball anyway."

This...is not a comforting thought to Yuno. Harmonia and Discordia both sell off submissives to the highest bidder. Being a magic knight means this mage has a lot of money so he should have been able to buy a submissive from them easily.

"Father saw you being kidnapped, Yuno. When we got to Hage to figure out what happened, Father told us everything and showed us the area where Discordia disappeared with you. It left a pretty big hole in the ground and Luck here was able to sense out her mana right away. We got to ride Magna's badass broom in a tunnel, it was awesome!" Asta says with a cheeky grin, "You weren't easy to save, but we were able to find you and get her in custody."

Yuno smirks then, his only words to this being, "Thank you, Asta, Magna, and Luck. I want to go home now."

Asta is about to agree, but then Magna rejects the idea, "You can't go home, Yuno. You were kidnapped by Discordia Volz. Your testimony will be needed in the Royal Capital to get her in prison."

Yuno sighs deeply then, subtly leaning into Luck's hold, "I'm on my cycle, can't it wait?"

"How about this: Luck and I will take the ten female submissives home. Asta can take you back to Hage to deal with your cycle. How does that sound?" Magna tries to barter with Yuno on this, because if he fails to bring him back to the Royal Capital to testify against Discordia, he will be in so much trouble!

Asta agrees to this easily, "Sounds good to me."

Luck, of course, has his reservations, "The submissive's cycle will be shortened if I can get him off."

Magna smacks his hand against his forehead, a disgusted groan escaping his lips, "...You fucking creep, _no_. It's bad enough you almost killed Discordia on first sight, but then to even _suggest_ we leave you alone with this poor submissive so you can do your creepy little things to him is preposterous especially for you!"

Yuno throws in his own opinion on the matter, "If it makes my cycle shorter, I'm all for it."

"Yuno, you don't have to." Asta reassures him whereas Magna is simply warning him, "You _really_ don't want to."

"I'll be fine, Asta. Let him make it shorter. You should take them home now, they're all really scared." Yuno says to them both, leaving Magna walking away slowly as he begins to take two female submissives home on his broom. Asta elects to stay behind to protect the submissives as well as keep an eye on Discordia.

Yuno is then taken away by Luck to a clearing in a nearby forest. Before he knows it, Luck is sucking on his neck, leaving hickeys and bitemarks on his skin. He doesn't get much time to react before Luck is using his fingers inside of him. At first, it feels strange, but he finds himself enjoying it when Luck manages to hit just the right spot. He's still leaving hickeys and bitemarks on his skin as he does this, but eventually all the stimulation leads to a climax he's never had before today.

He feels ten times better after this one session, but it seems Luck wants to do more.

"I want to give you oral!" Luck cheers a bit too happily for Yuno's comfort.

"...No thank you."

"It will make you feel amazing! Aw c'mon, let me taste you, my submissive."

Yuno is about to reject this offer a second time around when Magna appears from behind Luck, dragging him away with an irritated, "Come on, Luck! You have to start taking home some submissives too. I'm not going to be stuck with the hard work here."

Luck is arguing with Magna, but Yuno feels good enough to move on his own. Thus he uses this opportunity to leave the two magic knights behind and go see Asta again.


	5. Chapter 5

He got to ask Asta all about the magic knights entrance exams as Magna and Luck returned the remaining six submissives home. Yuno dearly wishes he had received a fair chance to take the exam. He honestly believes he could have done very well and passed just like Asta did! Oh well, it's all a lost cause now...

By the time this is done, Yuno is experiencing some stomach cramps and his legs do feel weak. It's not as bad as his cycle usually is now he has received some form of 'release' as Luck called it.

"There's not enough room on the broom for Yuno and I! Please Magna, can't he just go back to Hage now to ride out his cycle? Shouldn't you get Luck and Discordia back to the Royal Capital to get her arrested first?" Asta tries to bargain with an unsure Magna.

Magna then looks at Luck staring at Yuno in the creepy way he does whenever he's near a submissive he holds interest in, coming to his decision on the spot as he suppresses a shudder, "...You know what? You're right, Asta! Luck, get Discordia: we're heading out now."

"Aw, that's too bad!" Luck then waves to Yuno, "Goodbye _my_ submissive, I'll see you soon."

Yuno only waves back in response as the trio gets on Magna's broom and heads back to the Royal Capital.

"Let's get you home to Father, Yuno." Asta says to him as he throws him over his shoulder. Yuno sighs to this, questioning Asta's action just now, "Do you really have to hold me like this?"

"Of course I do! You can't handle the long walk back. Your cycle should be done by the time we return to Hage anyhow so I'll let you walk it off then. Don't worry Yuno, I'm sure Father will make me your new primary keeper and then I could try to get you into the Black Bulls with me! Wouldn't that be great?" Asta speaks with such strong determination it is contagious to an almost hopeful Yuno.

"Sounds great to me, Asta."

Of course, Yuno's cycle does end the day before they return to Hage. Asta kept him safe the whole trip home and as he returns him to the orphanage, Father is outside reading to the children. Upon hearing one of the kids say, "Look, Yuno's back! Asta saved him, Father!" Father instantly drops the book and runs over to where Yuno is at with Asta.

"Yuno! Oh thank heavens you're alright. I was so worried for you." he exclaims whilst hugging Yuno tightly, "I'm so sorry, you're too young to be bonded off. Dominants are such awful, vile creatures...don't worry, I won't ever send you to another matchmaker again. You can stay home, I have even chosen your new primary keeper."

Asta smiles pridefully, "Ah, no need to ask me twice, Father, the pleasure is all mine."

"Nash is your new primary keeper!" Father tells him happily, "Isn't that great? Now you don't ever need to be bonded to some terrible dominant."

Asta is speechless as well as baffled and Yuno is...slightly outraged by this.

"...Nash, _really_ Father? You could've picked Asta, but instead you picked... _Nash_?" Yuno begins slowly, "He's younger than me! Why is _he_ my new keeper and not _Asta_?"

Father explains in a way that is supposed to not make him feel bad, but it does anyway, "Because Asta is living with a bunch of dominants, Yuno. How on earth do I know these dominants won't try to rape you in your sleep or torture you or sell you off for some wine? I can trust Nash will keep you safe and sound as your primary keeper."

Yuno knows where this is coming from: Father's war memories have taken over him once more. When he sees Nash with the primary keeper ring on his finger, he knows he is screwed.

So much for ever being a magic knight...

The primary keeper ring is a ring made with the birthstone of the submissive with a silver band. Once it is placed on a dominant's ring finger, the ring binds to the finger. The only times the ring can ever be removed is when the submissive gets bonded, the keeper dies, or if the keeper relinquishes ownership of the submissive.

Asta naturally tries the last option.

"Nash, I'm older than you, I should be his keeper!" he begs the kid with the purple eyes and dark blonde hair.

Nash, naturally, has his own comeback for this, "Screw you, Asta! Father chose me because I'm more responsible than you. If I had gotten Yuno back from his kidnapper, I wouldn't have allowed some dominant jerk to leave hickeys all over his neck."

Asta is stammering as Father immediately checks Yuno's neck, causing the young submissive to blush in embarrassment as he nearly shrieks, "Yuno, what happened! Who was the dominant who violated you? Did he hurt you? Was he crude or mean to you? Tell me, please!"

Yuno clears his throat, his golden eyes not meeting Father's, "It...um, it was a mage named Luck...he used his fingers on me to relieve me during my cycle. He wasn't crude, mean, or violating me. I asked him to do it to shorten my cycle."

"Oh...but you shouldn't have been so reckless! Asta, I can't believe you allowed that to happen. At least Nash would have defended his dignity and honor...what if he had been forcibly bonded? Rares like him die from forcible bonding, Asta!" Father chides the dominant teen who has nothing to say for himself on this matter.

"Come Yuno, let's get you inside and away from the dominants." Father says to him as he leads him back inside the church.

Asta glares down Nash who scoffs in response, "Nice try, dumbass."

Then he is distracted by Sister Lilly...

"Sister Lilly, I have become a successful magic knight. Will you marry me?" Asta asks the aromantic asexual submissive who only rejects him on the spot.

As for Yuno, he's back inside his room, holding his pillow close to his chest, trying to calm down from what happened. He doesn't leave his room after this. When Father tries to talk to him about it, he remains silent. When Sister Lilly offers him food to eat, he rejects it. He instead tries to sleep, but all he dreams about is what could have happened had Asta and his team not gotten to him in time. He can't sleep well because of this, which is why he lays on his left side, holding his pillow tight to his chest.

He then hears a knock on the door the following morning. He doesn't answer it, but then the door opens anyway with Nash and a slender man with purple eyes and a red mask entering the room.

The man begins calmly, almost gently in a strange way that seems to be natural to him, "Hello Yuno, I am Captain William Vangeance of the Golden Dawn. I am here to escort you and your primary keeper to the Royal Capital for the trials against Harmonia Walz and Discordia Volz."

Yuno clings to his pillow tighter, his knuckles almost turning white, "It's nice to meet you Captain Vangeance, but I'm not comfortable being by matchmakers or dominants right now."

"Yuno, I know it's hard and unnerving. Still, your testimony could end submissive auctions in our lands and make it so other submissives don't have to fear illegitimate matchmakers like Harmonia trying to steal them away." Captain Vangeance tries to encourage him but Yuno's not too willing to budge on it.

Nash, on the other hand, has had enough of it, "Damn it submissive, get out of your damn bed and into the fucking carriage already! As your primary keeper, I am ordering you to do as I say or else I will get another matchmaker for you. What, do you want me to choose Ms. Citrine as your matchmaker?"

Yuno shoots him a horrified look that says it all right there, "Exactly as I thought. Now get washed up and get ready to testify in court before I make good on my word."

Yuno does as he says without a word because he knows Nash is not one for empty threats. However, William is left glaring at Nash in a bit of irritation, "You didn't have to get so cruel with him. He went through a terrifying ordeal and the least you could do is be considerate of that."

"He's a submissive. My submissive...until I get him hooked up with the richest bastard around. I'm sorry submissive knight, but I have every right to talk to him in which ever way I please so long as I am his primary keeper."

William has never felt the urge to _hurt_ a child until now. He can already tell this will be a long, excruciating day for him.


	6. Chapter 6

The ride over to the Royal Capital was silent and without incident. Once there, Yuno stood in front of a court of noble and royal dominants, telling them his tale of his first meeting with Harmonia, his time with Discordia, and his rescue by the Black Bulls. After his testimony, the two women were sentenced to death for the following morning.

William managed to contain his inner outrage at the duo pretty well considering how disgusted he was the whole time he listened to the trial. The fact Harmonia violated Yuno with that crystal only to follow up with a torture device soon after is so appalling, almost more so than Discordia kidnapping him.

He does get to congratulate Yuno after the trial is over, "You did great out there. More submissives need to speak up and make our voices heard, especially when the dominants don't want us to."

"Thank you, Captain Vangeance." Yuno replies in a grateful tone but his eyes show his anxiety about being around so many dominants so soon after his ordeal.

If he had more time to recover it wouldn't have been so bad, but he didn't and thus it is bad for him to be by so many dominants in one room.

William isn't able to stay around much longer, so he takes his leave almost immediately after this conversation is over. This does not mean he is the only captain here...

Yami is the only other captain here and he is proud of his squad for catching the two criminals.

"Hey kid, sorry you had to go through that." Yami says to Yuno when William is gone and the crowd has thinned out some.

"It's okay, I'll be fine now." Yuno says more for himself than anyone else at this point.

As for Nash, he's using this opportunity to ask Yami, "Hey, I want to get Yuno bonded off to the Wizard King. Where do I go to meet the guy so I can introduce the two?"

Any normal, moral, good person would have told Nash to think of Yuno's feelings first. However, this Yami Sukehiro and his first instinct is to think, _if it gets Julius to leave William alone_...

"I can take you to his castle. From there on, you can do the talking."

Yami is going to burn somewhere for this but he doesn't care. He wants Julius to finally stop persuing William and what better way to do so than to get him hooked up with a rare submissive?

He does take them to meet Julius in his castle (it isn't too far away from the courthouse) and he leads them as far as to the throne room. Once in front of Julius, Yami tells him what he told the guard, "Nova Chrono, I want to introduce you to a primary keeper with a real rare."

Julius seems only mildly intrigued, but then he does allow the session to go on, "Alright, allow the primary keeper to speak."

Nash marches on up confidently to the center of the room, meeting Julius in the eye the whole while he spoke, "Hello your majesty, I want you to meet my submissive, Yuno. He's a rare, and surely that's good enough for you."

Julius eyes up Yuno from his spot behind Nash, his grey eyes not showing his truest thoughts as he speaks, "The rare is an interesting breed, but I am afraid my heart is set on another submissive by the name of William."

Yami growls under his breath, his need to hurt Julius becoming more and more evident to those near him.

Nash then counters with a sly answer of his own, "Really? If this William is oh-so-great, then why aren't you two bonded yet? You're the Wizard King: surely you can get any submissive you please."

Julius sighs heavily, his eyes having a far off look to them, "I can't have William because the matchmaker says he's not my soul partner, but I _know_ he is. He just doesn't see it yet."

"Oh, so you're wasting your time on a regular who doesn't want you?" Nash says to the man on his throne, "You're the Wizard King; you shouldn't be settling for some dime a dozen regular submissive who clearly thinks you're beneath his standards. What you should do is make him see what he's missing out on with you by going for this rare right here."

Julius seems to be interested and interested works for Yami because again, if it gets him away from William, he's good with it, "Really? You think William will be more interested in me if I do court the rare?"

"Um, duh he will! You are so obviously desperate for him, he knows he can always turn you down for any other dominant around because you'll never leave his side. You are a doormat to him. If you want him to respect you and take you seriously as a dominant, you have to move on from him and court this rare to show him you're desirable!"

Julius thinks it over for a minute or so before coming to his decision, "Hm, that is an interesting offer..."

Because the more Julius thinks on it, the primary keeper is right. William always ignored him for other dominants and always rejected him for someone else, constantly saying he's ' _just a friend_ '. He's been loyal to William for his whole life, so much so that he's never had a love life, only for the other to reject him at every turn. Maybe if he courts this rare, William will _finally_ respect him as a dominant and see him as soul partner material.

"I will court your rare, young dominant. What is your name?" he asks the dark blonde haired boy.

Yami is feeling relieved because now William will be free from Julius. Yuno, on the other hand, is feeling horrified.

He doesn't want to court after his awful experience. He wants to stay at home and recover, not court some new dominant he's never spoken to before!

"My name is Nash and I am his primary keeper." Nash introduces himself, "You have my fullest permission to court him, sire."

Yami cannot believe this scheme worked. He cannot believe Julius is _finally_ going to leave William alone. He has never felt more at ease in his life than what he does right now.

As Julius speaks to Yuno, Yami grabs Nash by the arm and says to him, "Hey kid, you did great out there...I owe you one. If you ever wish to be a magic knight, you'll always have a spot on the Black Bulls."

Nash shrugs in response, "It's no big deal. Yuno is a rare: this means he's worth more than the average submissive. If I can get him bonded off to the Wizard King, then I will live like a prince for the rest of my days."

Yami likes this kid. Now, why did William hate him again? 


	7. Chapter 7

Julius shows Yuno and Nash to the room they will be residing in during their courtship. Of course, this means Nash started asking inappropriate questions right off the bat, much to Yuno's own horror.

"So, when you and Yuno do bond, will he have to start wearing dresses like a pretty princess and call himself the Wizard Queen?"

" _Nash_!" Yuno hisses at him as he nudges him hard against his shoulder.

Julius chuckles to this question, "No, he won't have to. Although if he wants to, I won't stop him."

"Great. So, when you will be courting him?"

Julius says with a certain air of authority to him, "I will court you tonight. Be sure to be ready for it, Yuno, because I will take your breath away."

By this, Julius means William's breath when he sees just how good of a dominant he can be. When William sees this, he'll surely dump Yami for him and agree to be bonded to him!

As he leaves the room, Yuno's golden eyes are trained tightly on Nash, "Why do you want me to be bonded off to him, Nash?"

Nash answers it as though it's the easiest question in the world, "Because he's the _Wizard King_ , Yuno! You're a rare, that means you can get the best of the best and once you're bonded off to him, I'll get to live like a king!"

Yuno lays down on the king size bed with the buttercream yellow covers, holding a pillow close to his chest as he groans, "Nash, I don't want to be bonded off! I don't even want to be courted right now or see other dominants. I want to go home and rest. I already went through a bad ordeal, why put me through more?"

"Oh come on, Yuno, now you're being over dramatic and too picky." Nash scoffs in response.

Yuno rolls his eyes to Nash's scoff, "I'm a rare, _Nash_. The emerald cuff Harmonia used on me is a cuff that prevents my cycle from happening but it doesn't stop the lowering of my magic power or my physical strength. Dominants used those in the war Father was in to keep submissives like me weak, subdued, and ready to..."

Yuno cannot even fathom the word coming at the of that sentence, so he continues on around it instead, "My kind can _die_ from wearing those cuffs for too long. _I_ could have _died_ from it, Nash. I'm still disturbed by everything I've learned today at the trial...I want to go home."

Nash rejects this wish because no way in hell is he living like a commoner forever!

"Pull yourself together, Yuno! You have a courtship tonight with the _Wizard King_. Be grateful for what you've got and stop moping about already! You can't let the Wizard King see you like this." Nash then snarls under his breath, "Honestly Yuno, you're the luckiest submissive in the world right now...the faster you realize it, the better everything will be for you."

Yuno says nothing back to this. Instead, he lies down in his bed and continues to hold his pillow whilst Nash speaks of how great it will be to be bonded to the Wizard King.

He's not looking forward to it.

Night time still comes regardless of his apprehension. Before he knows it, he is being forcibly bathed by Nash ( _because you need to be presentable, Yuno, this is the Wizard King!_ ) and he is being dressed in these clothes he feels kind of...exposed in.

"Nash, what possessed you into---"

"Shut up and wear it, submissive!" Nash snarls at him, "This is your first time courting. Take it seriously here or else you'll fuck everything up!"

Yuno feels exposed and he hates it. The shirt he is wearing is white and sheer (which means his hickeys from Luck are showing through), the pants...oh dear, do not get him started on those. They are black lace and though they are loose, he feels cheap in it.

"I feel like a cheap product in the marketplace." Yuno snarls to Nash, his discomfort coming out as rage, "I refuse to court him in this!"

Nash huffs in response to his outburst, "Oh shut it, submissive! At least your girly bits are covered...maybe I shouldn't have covered them, though. I mean, I do want him to bond you tonight."

Yuno glares down his primary keeper, ready to hit him with the strongest orb of wind he's ever summoned in the palm of his hand, but then there's a knock on the door. Nash grins cheekily as he answers it, "Hello, Yuno's primary keeper speaking."

There stands King Julius with a gentle look in his eyes, "I am here to take Yuno out of your care for a while. Is this fine by you?"

"You bet it is." Nash replies before screaming, "Yuno, get over here! The Wizard King is here to court you!"

Yuno very slowly and reluctantly approaches the doorway, his cheeks pink from embarrassment as he barely meets Julius' eyes, "Hello my king, it is an honor to be courted by you."

"The pleasure is all mine. Come now Yuno, we have a long night ahead of us." Julius speaks with a smile and a taking of his hand.

"Just remember to hit an erogenous zone when you find his g-spot if you want him to be really loud and wanton for you!" Nash shouts down the hall as they walk away, leaving Yuno feeling sick to his stomach and Julius laughing it off.

"He's a nice kid, isn't he?"

 _Only if you're a dominant_ , Yuno wants to say instead of nodding in response.

Julius is very considerate, even romantic of a dominant: he takes Yuno waltzing in a candle lit ballroom with a large gold and crystal chandelier on the ceiling. He then shows him the royal garden, giving him a freshly bloomed blue rose. Their dinner is out on the balcony, with a string quarter playing the whole while they eat under the full moon's sky.

Of course, Yuno didn't feel unsafe when with him, but he did feel uncomfortable the whole time. He doesn't want to be by dominants at the moment and Julius is really pushing his boundaries here. Even the dancing made him feel anxious because all he can think of is his trial and what, exactly, would have happened to him had he not been saved by Asta.

When Yuno makes the smallest of flinches as Julius tries to kiss him, that is when their evening is interrupted.

"Julius, are you about to _kiss_ this submissive youth?"

Julius turns on his heel to see William standing there, with what he thinks is jealousy in his eyes.

He feels confident then, perhaps too confident, as he says, "Yes, I am. I am a capable, desirable dominant with needs and desires who is courting this submissive with the permission of his primary keeper."

Williams hums to this answer, because _really, Julius, how pathetic_!

"Interesting...you are courting the same submissive youth who was kidnapped and tortured by the submissive auctioners Harmonia Walz and Discordia Volz? Please explain the logic behind this to me because I just don't get it."

Julius is not feeling as confident now, but he keeps up a facade anyhow, "I am courting him because I...I want to give...this poor submissive a better shot at life?"

Yeah, _that_ fell apart real quick under the fiery gaze from William's eyes.

"Hm, and here I thought this was some pathetic, hair brained attempt to make me jealous. Instead, I've come to the conclusion that regardless of your intention, you are a disgusting deviant and if you keep courting this traumatized submissive, I will never speak to you again!"

Julius is a doormat for William. This true nature of his comes out as he gains a look of horror to his features and begins to plead for mercy, "William, please don't be upset with me! I only did it to prove I am a good, strong, capable dominant to you. I'll stop courting him immediately, I'll speak my sorrow in the language of flowers for you, please, please don't stop speaking to me!"

William pretends to think it over, even Yuno can see this, but Julius is a doormat and doormats simply don't see these little details, "I don't know...I mean, I won't if you bring the primary keeper and the rare to my broom so I can take them back to my headquarters."

Julius nods instantly, "Yes, right away, anything for you, William."

As Julius leaves to get Nash, William turns to Yuno with an empathetic eye, "Are you okay? I bet you must be feeling so awful right now."

Yuno sighs deeply, "...Thank you. I don't want to be by any dominants for a while."

William won't pester him to answer his question. He'll allow him time to recover from this awful event he's gone through.

Now, to survive a night with Yuno's awful primary keeper...


	8. Chapter 8

Yami had told William of his little plan after William had heard it as a rumor from a member of the Golden Dawn. Upon hearing of it, William decided to intervene on this little courting attempt. Using a traumatized submissive to make him jealous is simply the most disgusting and pathetic thing he's ever heard!

He had learned from Julius' guards where he was at with Yuno. From there on, dismantling Julius' little scheme required little to no effort on his end. The broom ride over to his castle with Nash and Yuno was relatively casual. It is only when they arrived at the castle did Nash let out his dominant primary keeper side.

Klaus and Mimosa are the first to greet the trio as they arrive.

"Oh, you must be the rare who testified today! I am Klaus Lunette, the man who would have saved you sooner without incident." Klaus introduces himself with an arrogant tone.

Mimosa comes next with a kind smile, "Hello rare, it's nice to meet one of your kind. I'm Mimosa, who are you?"

William feels...embarrassed right now.

It never ceases to amaze him just how inept and ignorant noble and royal dominants are around submissives.

"...I'm Yuno, it's nice to meet you." Yuno answers back in a deadpanned way.

"Whatever losers, none of you are ever bonding him! He's a _rare_ , not a basic everyday _regular_ : he will be bonded to the _Wizard King_ and nothing else." Nash says with pure conviction, "Yuno, get up to our room right now! You need beauty sleep to keep that body going for your future king."

William glares at the mouthy primary keeper, his own voice allowing some annoyance to slip through, "Maybe you could try talking to him in a way that is less commanding and disrespectful, little miscreant."

Nash rolls his eyes, "Can it, _submissive_. You can't tell me what to do with _my_ rare! I'm the _primary keeper_ , he's _my_ property until he's bonded off to the Wizard King."

Oh this _brat_!

He is really, really struggling to not snap and hurt this little _brat_!

"Maybe you should treat him as an _equal_. He's _not_ property for you to own or boss around." William says with conviction to the dominant with the violet eyes.

"So long as I am his primary keeper, I do own him. By law, I am his owner and he does belong to me until I get him bonded off to a king." Nash replies confidently, "If he disobeys me, he goes to prison. It's as simple as what Father told me."

William is almost up to here with this little bratty keeper and it's only when Klaus takes them to their rooms does he somewhat calm down.

Yami does stay for the night, thinking he's getting sex but instead he gets a long angry rant from William.

"Nash is an awful primary keeper for poor Yuno! He's bossy, controlling, and so disrespectful it's almost unreal. He acts like Yuno is some object to auction off to the highest bidder. It's obvious he doesn't think about what is best for him or his emotional needs! Yami, I swear, if I ever wanted to personally hurt a dominant, he would be the one I would hurt."

Yami does not say a word about liking the kid. His main reasoning being _maybe I can still get some sex out of this if I listen long enough_.

William does take it to a new level by saying to him, "If you love me, you will become this submissive's new primary keeper."

To which Yami replies, "Hell no! I'm not doing that, William. The kid isn't that bad."

The steely glare from William says it all. He groans, rolling his eyes as he does so, "Fuck it. I'll do my best, but I don't think he's as bad as you say he is."

Yami finds out from William which room Klaus took them to and decides to give it his best shot.

He knocks on the door once with a giant thump of his fist on the wood, "Hey kid, open up!"

Nash opens the door, a groan escaping him as he answers, "What? I was trying to get some rest here."

"I'll let you get back to it once you allow me to be the primary keeper of your rare."

Nash does a double take to this before laughing so hard, "Yeah right! Like I'd give up the role of a lifetime! Nice try, loser, but I'm not doing it."

Yami keeps the door open with his own foot, sighing heavily as he does so, "Listen kid, it's not because I want to. You see, it's because my submissive wants to help guide and answer questions on the confusing submissive shit the rare will go through. Now this is becoming a wrench in my sex life, but other than that, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for him."

Nash gives him a dumbfounded look before saying, "Wait a minute: you're doing this for your bossy, bitchy _regular_ submissive? You're allowing this bitchy submissive to run you like a dog? You're a dominant! He's just an average _regular_ , why bow to him? Why can't you just grow a pair and run him like a true dominant should!"

Yami rolls his eyes to this, "Because I enjoy his commanding side and consensual sex with him too much to say no. Now kid, just give me the ring and I'll be on my way."

Nash scoffs to this with an eye roll, "No way in hell am I doing that! I'm not letting Yuno have a doormat like you as a primary keeper. You'd probably let him bond with that psycho Luck Asta told me all about. I'm sorry but no, Yuno deserves better than a squad of losers and nerds like the ones in your team and in this building."

Nash then slams the door shut when he is done speaking and Yami...laughs at this, "Eh, William can't say I didn't try!"

Needless to say, he received no sex that night. The following morning, Klaus and Mimosa took the duo back to Hage, where Nash is inspired to look for Yuno's dominant in a new place and Yuno is in his room, trying to move on from the insanity of the day before.


	9. Chapter 9

Every day whenever he is not on a mission, Nozel wakes up early to see the matchmaker for the Silva family. She's an older lady who's family has been doing this for generations and she's the best of the best in her field.

Posy Primrose is the matchmaker's name and her magic is spiritual based. She lives in the same building as Nozel to one day get him matched up with his soul partner. I say 'one day' because ever since he came of age, he has not ever found his soul partner.

At first, he thought it was a mistake. Then days turned into months and months into years without any soul partner to bond. It didn't help matters that his brother and sister found their soul partners after only one session whereas he struggled to even find a _hint_ of his.

Though Fuegoreon is generous enough to not make any snide comments or jokes behind his back, the other members in other royal houses are not as kind. Sure they won't say it straight to his face because he is still the strongest out of them, but the words spoken behind his back always find a way to his ear. All he ever hears then is: _poor Nozel, to be a dominant without a soul partner is so disgraceful to House Silva, how on earth can he ever cope with it?_

It makes him see red, but he uses this as fuel for his resolve and determination to be the next member of House Silva as the Wizard King. He won't let them win: he's a _Silva_ and _Silvas_ don't fail.

This morning, he wakes up in his bed after two months of being away on a mission. He gets cleaned up to see the matchmaker, because _Silvas always must look their best_ as his mother said, and readies himself for more disappointment.

He lost hope of finding his soul partner long ago and instead settled on remaining single forever. He could marry a random submissive, but then he's a Silva and Silvas don't marry randomly. There is more honor for him in being alone than being with someone who isn't right for him at all.

He meets her in her room, a place of plush green velvet and luscious gold walls, a calm look to his person.

"Ah, Nozel, trying again are we?" Posy begins as she ties back her long, wavy black hair.

Nozel meets her auburn eyes, replying boldly, "A Silva never quits."

Posy nods before getting out her grimoire, "Spirit creation magic---celestial plain!"

The room becomes clouded in a white gold mist as the physical world decays away in front of their eyes. They are then standing above a giant pastel gold gridlock on a clear walk away overlooking it. Down on the gridlock, there are the aura colors of billions of submissives shining brightly in a giant rainbow.

Posy lowers the walk way, waving her hand as she does so, "Spiritual creation magic---soul thread!"

A thread of deep red violet aura leaves Nozel's person at this spell. If the thread fails to connect him to an aura on the gridlock, then it means he has not found his soul partner.

(If he could count all the times he's had this thread return to him...)

In what would be a major first for him, the thread is not returning to him. Instead, it is... _stuck_. It's stuck to something. He's never had this happen before! It finally stuck, he's found his soul partner!

Then the thread pulls him in closer, allowing him to see a deep, cool toned emerald green aura. He slowly sees a human shape taking form in the aural light and there in the human shape, he sees a thin, golden eyed boy with messy dark brown black hair.

He sees the name of the submissive above his head, Yuno, and it even tells him he's a rare submissive.

"You wish to see more, correct?" Posy says more than asks.

Nozel nods, "Of course I do, why wouldn't I want to see more of him?"

She then says out to any listening, "Angel of Love, reveal the rare submissive, Yuno, for his dominant's eyes to see."

The figure then disappears as a portal forms in it's stead. There, Nozel sees...Hage village... _ugh_...

Then he sees a crumbling church orphanage, with boarded windows and dominant children playing outside. Out of the churches doors comes an older, aromantic asexual submissive man with a dark haired boy... _Yuno_. His soul partner comes from such squandor? Had he not been a rare, he'd have rejected the submissive without ever meeting him!

There's a dominant child by him wearing the primary keeper ring, something which honestly confuses Nozel because...wow, what was this guy thinking when he chose a _child_ to be his soul partner's keeper?

"Yuno, you need to be bonded soon! You're of age for your kind. If you're not bonded...oh Yuno, your kind don't last long without proper bonding. It doesn't have to be with a soul partner, it can be with any dominant you choose. Don't worry, I won't force you to see a matchmaker again, just please get bonded!" the older submissive priest begs the rare who happens to be Nozel's soul partner.

Yuno sighs lightly, "Father, I'll be fine. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Father then takes him by the shoulders with a frantic look to his eyes, "Yuno, if you aren't bonded off soon, your cycles will get worse. I already have a hard time keeping you safe at night from all the unbonded dominants around here who all know of your being a rare! Since you haven't met your soul partner, your cycles will become longer and you will start emitting off a sweet scent that draws in all unbonded dominants. This is not a light matter---please Yuno, pick a dominant and get bonded."

Yuno refuses to still, his eyes showing his hesitance so clearly, "Father, I'm not really over what happened with Harmonia and Discordia... I want to avoid matchmakers and dominants for a while longer."

Nozel has heard of the details of this case because it brought an end to submissive auctioning (as in, it is illegal now), but he never knew the rare in the case was Yuno. Now he feels a sense of unbridled outrage: a _Silva_ submissive was kidnapped and tortured by those lowly con artists! The disgust to this thought is almost too much for him to bare, but then the portal shows worse.

Out of nowhere, Yuno is being tackled by Luck Voltia, the disgusting psychopath, as he exits a portal made by the equally terrible Finral.

" _Submissive_...you need me just like you did the day I saved you from Discordia and stole your fingering virginity!" Luck then continues to hold him still, his electric eyes glowing, " _My_ submissive, _my_ rare, _my_ property!"

Yuno's response is to slip one wrist free as Luck is ranting and hit him hard with a powerful gust of wind, "Don't touch me, you little creep!"

Luck is momentarily stunned but he recovers quickly, "I _love_ submissives who fight me! Come my submissive, let me court you."

Nash steps in then, his own words harsh, "Shut it, loser! Yuno is only being courted by kings. He's a rare, he doesn't have to and he won't ever settle for the likes of you so long as I live. No, you cannot court him, now leave already!"

Luck shrugs in response, "Oh well. If you're not bonded in two weeks, I'll try again. Goodbye, my submissive!"

Finral laughs as he opens up the portal again, "Man, you sure know how to pick 'em!"

Nozel is trying to get over the horror of a Black Bull actually _touching_ his submissive when Nash says to Yuno, "Don't worry, I'll be sure you get bonded to a king soon."

Yuno chuckles to this, his mirth taking over himself as he says, "Sure you will."

The vision ends here and Nozel is back in the room once reserved for Posy Primrose. He's face to face with his matchmaker only for a moment before thanking her profusely. He then got on his broom and made his way back to Hage, her warning very fresh in his mind: _this vision happened a week ago from today. I cannot show you his current whereabouts or if he is unbonded. You'll have to go there and see it for yourself, Nozel._

It doesn't matter if Yuno is bonded. Nozel is a Silva and Silvas don't fail.


	10. Chapter 10

Yuno has not been having easy cycles as of late. Ever since the trial and failed courtship with the Wizard King two months ago, his cycles are now longer by two days and Father keeps him in a basement because he's terrified of the village dominants trying to steal him while he's feeling so weak.

His body feels like lead, there's a wetness going down his legs that the healer says is arousal but how can this be true? Isn't arousal supposed to feel pleasant, not like a deep throbbing pain? Then there's the fact he cannot eat during this time period without getting sick and he gets fevers now too. Apparently, this is somehow part of the arousal, according to the village healer.

This cycle is different from others. Father says because his courtship with the Wizard King failed and he hasn't courted ever since, his cycles will keep getting worse until he either courts again or gets bonded. Father's warning proves true when he starts to...smell something...almost like...strawberries and cream.

 _Oh_ _no_!

Father warned him of this: his body will start to emit a scent that will attract a dominant.

Great, now his body is begging to be bonded! Just what he needs right now! He holds his pillow close to his chest, wanting nothing more than for this to end and for his body to stop trying to turn him into some dominant's concubine.

He's happy tonight is his final night of his cycle, but he's not looking forward to being courted again by another dominant. Father doesn't know where Nash is taking him and Nash (by law) doesn't have to tell him. Yuno has a lot to be nervous about, but for some reason, he's feeling more nervous than usual.

It probably has to do with Nash's secret plan, but he doesn't know why it is making him more nervous than the changes in his cycles or the fact Father is really pressing him to be bonded off right now.

He wants to sleep, but it's hard to do when he feels his stomach twisting in knots. He's trying to calm down, so he won't have bad dreams, but he knows it's futile.

Somehow, someway, he does manage to sleep at some point during the night. Though he is put off by the lingering scent of strawberries and cream on his person the following morning. So put off by it, in fact, it's the first thing he asks Father about when he sees him.

"Why do I smell like this still? It came up randomly on the last day of my cycle and now it won't go away." Yuno comments to him in a desperate way, trying to not freak out as badly.

Father gives him a sad look, his own explanation spoken plainly, "Yuno...your kind need to be properly bonded. Had you never been courted and rejected by a dominant, your body would not be emitting this scent so soon. You could have lasted slightly longer without being bonded, but as it stands you cannot anymore. It will only end when you are bonded."

Yuno tries to convince himself it isn't so severe of a predicament, but then the other dominant children enter the dining room, making things worse for him with their comments.

"Ah, something smells really good! Like strawberry jam and peach pie."

"No, no it's more like apples and cherry blossoms!"

"I think it smells like candied apples and cinnamon buns."

"To every dominant, your scent will vary upon what they are drawn to. Yuno, I don't think I even want you outside at this point. I'm not sure how strong your scent is or how many dominants you will attract." Father explains to him as he stares at the kids in horror as they come to his side and begin to comment on how good he smells.

It disturbs him deeply because even though they are children, they are dominants regardless and he doesn't want to be surrounded by dominants drawn in to his body's scent!

He is holed up in his room when Nash bangs on the door as loudly as he can, "Yuno, get the hell out here! You have a king to be bonded to today and we can't waste time. Father says your body is begging for it's cherry to be popped, so let's get going and make a move on it already!"

Yuno goes over to his door, answering it with a relatively calm, "There's no need to be so vulgar. Don't worry, I'm ready to leave. I want to be bonded before any of the perverts around here try anything awful."

"Sure, sounds great to me." Nash comments as he walks with Yuno down the stairs and over to the front door. They were about to exit, but then Father felt it.

An ice cold pressure, so raw and powerful, there is no doubt in his mind this mana is coming from a strong dominant. Yuno needs to leave now, but not through this door! Yuno needs to go out through the back and escape while he and Sister Lilly distract this dominant.

"Nash, take Yuno out through the back door. I don't want you to face this dominant alone: he's too powerful and if you get mouthy with him, he could kill you." Father warns the young mage who nods numbly, feeling the same mana Father feels at the moment, "I'll distract him, but you have to leave."

Nash takes Yuno by the wrist and drags him out through the back door, leaving Father to deal with the rapidly approaching dominant.

Nash and Yuno do not get to make it too far when a man on a broom lands right in front of them. His lilac eyes connect with Yuno's golden almost instantly, causing the other to blush for reasons he doesn't understand, "Where are you going? If you don't mind, I could take you there."

"Um...I guess...now is a better time than never." Nash stammers as his nervousness overpowers him in the presence of the very powerful stranger, "I was going to take Yuno to the Heart Kingdom to get him bonded off to their Wizard King. Do you mind taking us there?"

The ice cold pressure flares then, nearly suffocating Nash as the man speaks, "Really now? That was your plan...for _my_ soul partner."

Nash can only give one reply, "I...want him...bonded off to a king...so I can live like a prince. He's a rare...it should be easy enough."

"I am from House Silva; I am royalty you little _slum rat_! How dare you try to bond off my soul partner to another!"

Nash is starting to panic at the raised tone yet apathetic face of the man before him, "I-I'm sorry! You can court him if you please, sir. He needs to be bonded off anyway, he's starting to reek off a strong scent that's attracting unbonded dominants."

The pressure quiets down then, with the man coming off of his broom and approaching a still blushing Yuno, "Hello Yuno, I am Nozel Silva, your soul partner. It's my pleasure to finally meet you."

He takes the back of Yuno's hand and kisses it, causing jolts of electricity to run down Yuno's spine as he replies, "It's nice to meet you too, Nozel."


	11. Chapter 11

After receiving his kiss on the back of his hand, Yuno does take Nozel with him inside the orphanage to explain the situation to his upset father. Yes, Father will probably not take this with grace, but at least he'll be happy he's getting bonded...right?

Nozel does his best to remain polite and calm, but the apprehension on Father's face isn't helping matters, "Hello sir, I am Yuno's soul partner, Nozel. I have arrived to take him back to the Royal Capital with me for a two day courting session before we bond."

Father is understandably scared, but it's only because of his own experiences with dominants like Nozel in the midst of war. Whenever he feels his mana, he can only have images flashing through his mind of so many rare submissives like Yuno dying...it deeply unnerves him.

"Nozel...I'm sure you're a wonderful dominant, but I have to take Nash's judgement into question here. Dominants like yourself...well, they do awful things to submissives like Yuno: they plunder, pillage, torture, rape and kill submissives like Yuno. I've seen enough in the war to know how it works and I'm convinced Nash made a poor judgement call here." Father says to the royal dominant with a worried look in eyes.

Nozel knows where this is going: former keeper questioning. Former keeper questioning applies to a former primary keeper of a submissive questioning the judgement and/or treatment of the submissive by the new keeper. This can result in the new keeper being taken to court, wherein they could lose all authority over the submissive in question. At that point, since Father is a submissive himself, Yuno would be handed over to the first dominant to show interest in him and from what Nozel knows, this means Luck Voltia, the slum rat sociopath of the Black Bulls.

No matter, Nozel always has a trick up his sleeve to get himself out of such predicaments.

"You do realize if you call a questioning into Nash's judgement, you will more than likely get Yuno bonded off to Luck Voltia. You are a submissive: even if Nash was stripped of his position, you would no longer have a chance to be his keeper. Yuno would be handed off to Luck Voltia for bonding then and I'm sure he wouldn't want such a fate."

Father drops all talks of it to this information, leaving Nozel feeling rather smug and victorious, "Even then, to _insinuate_ I am somehow _similar_ to the disgusting _heathens_ you saw in the war is an insult of the highest order to my bloodline, stature, and standing in society. I am _royalty_ , I would never mistreat my submissive like a _slum rat_."

Ah yes, speaking of Nash...

"As for you, primary keeper, trying to take any submissive to another kingdom for bonding purposes is illegal now and punishable by life imprisonment. Since you are allowing Yuno to be courted by me, I won't mention your feasible attempt to anyone, but remember this fact when I do ask permission for bonding." Nozel says with a firm look into Nash's eyes.

Nash nods slowly, trying to hid his nervousness, "Yes, sir."

"Good, now if you don't mind, Yuno and I should get going now." Nozel ends the conversation as he takes Yuno's hand and leads him outside.

Of course, he allows his soul partner to say goodbye to the only family he's ever had before they do leave. (He's not cruel or inhumane after all.) The ride over is pretty silent, but then Nozel doesn't mind this. The courting session is where they will get to know the basics of each other's personalities before they do bond. From there on, their bond will grow deeper as well as stronger the more they get to know each other.

By the time they do arrive at the palace Nozel lives in, Yuno is led inside the grandiose building, which to him feels like a place meant for the Wizard King. For Nozel it's more of a summer home than anything else.

His bedroom is straight across the hall from Nozel's and it causes him to ask, "Why am I sleeping in a room right across from you?"

Nozel answers it as, "Because I don't trust other unbonded dominants being by you in a hotel or that crumbling building you called home back in Hage. Traditionally, you would be kept at home for our courtship to maintain honor and standard, but given your unique circumstances you have to be kept here during the two day period."

Yuno can accept this, but he does make a point to say, "I will not wear anything sheer or lacey during our courtship. Nash made me do it once and once was humiliating enough for me."

"No, you won't need to do so or even be asked. Why did he have you dressed in such a way?" Nozel inquires because that is rather bizarre for a primary keeper to do.

Yuno sighs then, his eyes slightly rolling at the mere mention of it, "He somehow got me a courtship with the Wizard King and thought if I showed off more of my 'good' parts, then he'd bond me. It was all part of Nash's plan to live like a king while getting me bonded off to one."

... _Julius_ , Vangeance's pathetic _doormat_ , is the first one to have ever courted him? This is _unacceptable_ in Nozel's eyes! He will outdo Julius and make him look like the pathetic worm of a dominant he is!

"Interesting. I will come to your door tonight to start our courtship, Yuno. My only request for you is to dress nicely and be ready to leave when I knock."

"Alright."

As Nozel heads down the hall, Yuno pauses before entering his new room, his only words to him after this being, "Thank you for courting me on such short notice."

Nozel doesn't turn back, he instead pauses in his step, saying to him in return, "It is no hassle for me to do so. You're my soul partner; I'll court you regardless of the situation at hand."


	12. Chapter 12

Yuno tried to find clothes that would fit him, but sadly enough, none of them did. Had he not gone through the cycles he did over the last two months, he would not have lost the weight he did.

His first cycle two months ago caused him to lose five pounds. His second cycle only a month ago caused him to lose another five.

He did gain five pounds back of the ten he had lost, but he lost it after his most recent cycle. Thus, after his most recent cycle, Yuno is ten pounds underweight. He cannot find anything that fits him because of this. He's grateful Nozel gave him so many clothes to choose from, but as it stands none of them fit him.

He sighs, trying to think of what he can wear. Unfortunately, he cannot think of anything. He is pretty much screwed on the outfit then. Oh well, he did try to live up to Nozel's standards.

The other wasn't too pleased when he did knock on his door and saw him in the same outfit as before. He greets him politely regardless but the question does come up, "Hello Yuno, it is nice to make your acquaintance this evening. I had thought I told you to dress nicely. Did you not like anything Posy had my seamstress make for you?"

Yuno explains his side of the story with a disappointed eye, "I'm sorry, but none of the clothes fit me properly. They were all too big on me."

Nozel eyes up his figure critically and sighs deeply, "I will do my best to fix this. Fiona!"

A short, red haired girl with wide cerulean eyes appears almost instantly at Nozel's call, "Yes sir?"

"Fix his clothes and make them fit right. I cannot court him in his current attire." Nozel orders with ease as the impish looking girl nods.

"Yes, Sir Nozel, I will get to it right away." she answers back happily, dragging Yuno back into his room and shutting the door behind him while doing so.

She then uses her tape measure to figure out his measurements, clicking her tongue in annoyance, "Ah you're underweight...don't worry, I can have your outfits better fitted to your figure in no time!"

Yuno asks her randomly as she gets out her grimoire and activates her spell, "So...Nozel picked out clothes for me before I came here?"

Fiona shakes her head, chuckling to this, "Oh, no he left right away after his meeting with the matchmaker! Posy had called me in, showing me an image of you from the spiritual plains and I had to guess your measurements from that one image. I guess I didn't think you'd be so thin..."

Yuno is dressed then in form fitting black slacks and a matching black silk long sleeved shirt with silver threading on the cuffs of his sleeves.

It's the nicest outfit he will ever live to wear. That's what he is thinking at the moment anyway as Fiona grins, "You look excellent! Now, go court with your soul partner and don't speak to me again until you gain some weight."

"...Okay then?"

Fiona disappears in a puff of smoke after this is spoken, causing Yuno to try to not think about her strange ways as much as he reopens the door to Nozel.

His soul partner's first comment?

"You're too thin, but I suppose I can work with it."

Such a lovely way to start an evening, no?

He is taken to a lush, extravagant ball the Wizard King is holding (most likely an attempt to seduce Captain Vangeance, Yuno supposes) in a grand carriage ("I am a Silva, I always arrive to events such as these in the best carriages." Nozel says).

Yuno doesn't mind being led through the building with its marble floors and golden pillars with the high arched ceilings. It's a stunning sight to behold for someone like him, but for someone like Nozel, this is nothing new.

Nozel has his hand in his own during this time period. He only releases him when they walk down the wide, red velvet covered staircase into the ballroom. Nozel immediately introduces him to the first person he sees, showing off subtly as he says, "Hello Fuegoreon, this is my soul partner, Yuno."

The tall redhead with the lavender eyes smiles lightly, "Hello Yuno, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"It's mine as well, sir." he answers gingerly, but then Fuegoreon makes a move to take his hand and Nozel's response is swift.

He grabs Yuno's hand first, his words curt, " _I_ am the only one allowed to touch him. He is _my_ soul partner, after all: weren't you Vermillions raised with a sense of decorum?"

Fuegoreon's apology doesn't feel too sincere to Yuno, who is starting to feel anxious being in this ball with so many unbonded dominants eyeing him up as a piece of meat, "I'm sorry my wanting to shake his hand upset you so deeply, Nozel. I will be sure to be more considerate of your whims in the future."

Nozel rolls his eyes, but says nothing in response. Then a rambunctious dominant with copper hair approaches them and he is so much like Asta it's almost off putting for him.

His mint green eyes are vibrant, joyous, even glowing at the sight of him, "Hello stunning submissive, I am Leopold Vermillion of House Vermillion: royalty, in case if you didn't know."

Fuegoreon looks bewildered as well as embarrassed beyond belief, but Yuno responds before he can, "I am Yuno, it's nice to meet you, sir."

"Ah no, the pleasure is all mine! You smell so sweet too, like mother's tarts and cherry cream..." Leopold notes loudly as Yuno fights to suppress the shiver going down his spine, "Would you mind dancing with me, Yuno? Dancing with a future king would surely make your night."

"No thank you." he replies slowly, but it's so hard to not feel the eyes of the unbonded dominants watching his every move, drilling holes into his back.

"Oh come now, it will be an honor for you and me if you just say---"

"Touch him and I will have to end your bloodline." Nozel cuts him off with a harsh tone, "No one, not even a Vermillion, is allowed to encroach on _my_ submissive! To do so in front of my eyes is the height of disrespect: tell me Leopold, do you want a duel over him? Are you really ready to die?"

Leopold rolls his eyes, ready to chew Nozel out, but then Fuegoreon cuts him off, "Leopold, Yuno is his soul partner! They are having a courtship right now. Any dominant who violates a royal dominant's courtship is to be punished with death. You know this law by heart. If you keep violating this courtship, I won't stop him from killing you. I have no patience for courtship violators."

Leopold calms down to this, his stance apologetic, "I'm so sorry Nozel and Yuno, I won't try anything again."

"Of course you won't because you are forbidden from seeing Yuno until they are bonded. I won't allow you to humiliate House Vermillion any further." Fuegoreon speaks strongly to his brother who only groans in response.

"Ugh, fine, see you another time then, Yuno."

Fuegoreon apologizes one final time, telling the duo, "I'm truly sorry for his transgressions. Rest assured it will never happen again."

"It ought not to, or else I'd be compelled to kill your brother."

Fuegoreon keeps his mouth shut and walks away from them. Nozel introduces Yuno to as many people as he knows there, but so far all of them have made leery comments on his scent, his being a submissive, his being a rare, and _my how pretty you are!_

Even when they are finally dancing, Nozel comments to Yuno, "You've been rigid all night so far."

Yuno exhales shakily, apprehension showing clearly in his voice, "Father said I'm emitting a scent that attracts all unbonded dominants to me. I thought it'd go away by now, but it hasn't because I can feel their eyes on me and their comments disturb me. It's unnerving and even kind of...scary. I feel like a rabbit in a den of lions."

Nozel isn't shocked to hear this. He's had to threaten almost every unbonded dominant they've spoken to and he's gotten the urge to simply kiss Yuno aggressively in front of them all to show them he owns him.

This being said, Yuno has maintained excellent composure. Not once has he ever allowed his discomfort or fear to show through his mask of calm. He did well navigating the royal and noble cliques tonight. This alone proves he's good enough to be bonded off soon.

"We can leave after this song. I don't like having them eye you up so lustfully."

Yuno feels better hearing this. The further he's away from them, the better.

The song does end some time after this is said, but it's not without incident. An older noble man approaches Yuno, undressing him with his eyes in a way so blunt Yuno cannot suppress his fear around this man, "Hello rare, mind if we have a dance?"

Yuno rejects this politely as he can given his intense fear around him, "No thank you, sir."

"Ah, that's the thing: a rare submissive cannot tell a dominant no."

The man suddenly grabs him by his anatomy roughly, rubbing him with his large, meaty fingers.

Yuno is about to make a move when suddenly the room flares up with a cold, heavy, suffocating mana. Before Yuno knows it, the man is attacked quickly and is dead in the blink of an eye.

Nozel rolls his eyes in response to this event, "I'm a _Silva_. I don't have to tolerate such open and blatant disrespect for my courtship with _my_ soul partner. Come Yuno, we are leaving."

Yuno's hand is in Nozel's as he takes him out of the ballroom and up the stairs. However, he takes pause once at the top of the staircase. Knowing all eyes are on them, he dips Yuno low and kisses him with fervor and passion in a move to solidify his ownership over him.

They do head home after this kiss, the ride spent with Yuno clenching his hand tightly, not wanting to talk about what happened. Even when they are home, Yuno refuses to talk about it, telling Nozel, "It's too fresh for me...I'm sorry, I'll talk about it with you tomorrow."

It's not what Nozel wants to hear, but he tolerates it because Yuno really does look so traumatized and frantic right now. He takes him back to his room, kisses him goodnight and hopes for the best in the morning.


	13. Chapter 13

Yuno is approached by Nozel when it becomes half past nine in the morning and the brunette is very much awake but not at all moving out of bed. Nozel is pretty patient (in his mind) and very lenient (in his own eyes) but this is pushing his limits. He will not allow the traditional courting to be delayed any longer: Yuno already did the first half, he can and will do the second.

He doesn't care that he is waking his sibling's insufferable soul partners by the rather loud knock he does on Yuno's door. They are embarrassments to the Silva name, he doesn't owe them his consideration.

He waits for Yuno to reply, but when there is no reply, he starts things off himself, "Yuno, I am coming in to check on you."

He goes inside despite the lack of response he's received. Once inside the grand guestroom, he sees Yuno on the bed, looking oddly small in the cream colored sheets as he holds a pillow tight to his chest.

"I'm sorry I didn't answer. I'll get ready right away, I'll...I..." his voice trails off then, causing Nozel to mentally groan.

As a Silva dominant, his submissive's health, wealth, and well-being are all his responsibility. Well-being also means the emotional and psychological well-being of his submissive. This means Nozel is stuck to comfort Yuno and comforting is not his strong suit. He's a great protector and provider, but comforter? He lacks in that area.

Had it not been a traditional expectation of him to do so, he would have pawned this off for Solid or Nebra to deal with. However, Nozel is pretty strict on himself when it comes down to maintaining the family tradition and thus he gives it his best go.

"Are you upset over the noble man from last night?" he responds right away, perhaps too bluntly if the subtle tightening of Yuno's hold on the pillow means anything.

Nozel silently goes over to his bed, sitting straight and proper as he prods further, "He's dead, Yuno. He can't cause you any harm ever again. What is there for you to be upset about?"

Yuno speaks up after a moment's silence, his words being small as he speaks, "I know he's dead...but... I never was treated like that in all of my life by any dominant. I was never afraid of any dominant like I was with him. I know I'm more powerful than him when I'm not on my cycle, but...I guess I always thought this type of thing wouldn't ever happen to me."

Yuno goes on to clarify his comments a bit at the interested look Nozel gives him, "I was treated as a dominant all of my life. Father lied to the other children so they wouldn't ever know of it. I heard stories from him on how bad dominants can be, but I always took it as him being paranoid. I never knew how bad some dominants are until I was kidnapped, but even then I wasn't scared like I was last night. I never showed my fear to any dominant before like I had done with him...I never allowed my submissive side to take over so easily... I'm sorry for acting this way, I'll get ready now."

Nozel stops him with a firm hand on his shoulder, coming up with his own answer to the problem at hand, "You're upset because your so-called submissive side took over when you experienced your first brush with sexual assault."

He's really not great at comforting if the sigh he hears means anything, "It's not just that. I thought I would never be sexually assaulted, harassed, kidnapped or treated the way I have been ever since everyone learned the truth about me being a submissive. When it did happen...I guess it was a reminder that no matter how powerful I am, no matter how well I can hold my own, I will never be equal to a dominant and I will always be a submissive first."

"When they learned about my being a submissive, the other children started calling me 'submissive' more and treating me more like an object than a person. After the courtship with King Julius failed, I wasn't allowed to go outside alone because I had dominants shouting obscene things at me. I couldn't even go to the marketplace without Nash beside me because even though I'm older and I have a grimoire, Nash is the only thing that prevented dominants from gang-raping me in the street! I had to start using the basement whenever my cycles hit because Father said a dominant would try to break in and bond me. It's been humiliating, depressing, and maddening on me to go through this! I never knew how hard being a submissive is until now."

Nozel is quiet because he wasn't expecting the problem to be more complex than what it is. He thought it'd be more simple, and yet here he is, feeling grateful it's a situation he does have an answer to.

He's happy Yuno isn't crying or depressed, because he's awful with dealing with those emotions, but frustration? He can handle frustration with aplomb.

The royal mage swings his long legs gracefully onto the bed as he lies down right across from Yuno, meeting him in the eyes as he lays on his side, "Being a submissive is not a separate entity or part of yourself; it's a part of who you are in the same way being a dominant is part of who I am, but it's not the defining part me or yourself. There's more to us than just our status...however, I am glad you didn't speak earlier of your abuses from those slum rats in that village. I may have killed them all then..."

Nozel changes the subject for his own sanitys sake because just the thought of other dominants approaching his soul partner in such a manner made him see red, "What happened to you is wrong, but if you want to stop feeling frustrated you have to learn to accept yourself as a submissive and stop trying to play dominant to earn their respect. If you want to change things, prove them wrong. Show them your power and strength as being on par with their own. Over time they will come to respect you the same way they did with Vangeance."

Nozel then wraps an arm around Yuno's waist, holding him close in a makeshift hug of sorts. He had to remove the pillow, of course, but other than that, he's holding him close. He will never know or understand what it means to go through the same adjustment Yuno had to, but he hopes his words were some form of comfort to him...if not, then hugs were supposed to be comforting...or so Nebra said. He wouldn't really know: he's always internalized his own negative emotions during hard times and dealt with them alone. It's shocking to see his submissive being the same way, but then he supposes it's a good thing in the end. It means his soul partner likes him, trusts him, and feels he is capable of handling such events. 

It also means everyone was wrong about him being too miserable and controlling to live with. Another bonus, if you ask him. The closer he moves to his side, Nozel can say he has continuing proof he's not miserable to be by.

His makeshift hug must be working better than expected if his submissive is holding him tightly instead of the damned pillow. Which is a great thing because his submissive should be turning to him instead of an inanimate object for comfort.

He decides today he will break from tradition only once. He will not force a still upset Yuno to have breakfast with his siblings and their miserable soul partners. He will allow his submissive some time to recover from his frustrations. He takes a closer look then, seeing his soul partner's eyes closed, dark circles underneath them...he didn't sleep last night.

Looks like he's staying in bed today.


	14. Chapter 14

Yuno had woken up in Nozel's arms later on in the day. After this, they simply stayed in his guestroom and...talked. It was a nice conversation, but he did have to deal with Nozel tightening his grip on him when he recounted his kidnapping ordeal and Luck Voltia. He would try to change the subject subtly whenever Asta was mentioned, but when Yuno explained Asta's undying attraction to Sister Lilly, he calmed down.

Nozel didn't speak much on his childhood, but he did speak of his many times spent on the battlefield as well as how he became the captain of the Silver Eagles. It interests Yuno because...wow, he wishes he had a shot at this life! Then...Father wouldn't have allowed it. He wonders which squad he would have been allowed into, who his captain would've been. Of course, it is a mistake to wonder this out loud because Nozel's answer is simple, "Your captain would have been me. You were made for me, after all."

Yuno finds himself not minding this thought or answer. He even doesn't mind it when Nozel pins him down on the bed with one hand, kissing his lips, and using his other hand to...

It's strange to him how he doesn't mind Nozel doing these same things Luck did to him after his ordeal. Maybe it's because he thinks Nozel is attractive? Maybe he's starting to like him? What if he...no, only Asta gets crushes, he's not the type to...is he?

"Better than Voltia, huh?"

Yuno's only reply is a quick kiss on the lips, causing him to gain an embarrassed flush on his cheeks because wow, does he feel so dumb for not being able to articulate the ever so simple, "Yes, you were better than him."

"Great to know I delivered. I have business to attend to, I'll see you tonight for dinner." Nozel says to him casually as he gets off of him and heads out of his door.

Traditionally, a Silva courtship takes two days between a soul partner and the Silva. It compromises of the first day being spent in a public outing or event where high society will be present to determine how much training the soul partner will need in order to blend into the high society the Silvas are a part of. This is followed by a second day before the bonding where they share a meal, any meal, with all family members present to determine the positives and negatives that need to be worked on in order to prevent the submissive from becoming an embarrassment to the family name. After this, they bond and wed shortly after.

Nozel is breaking tradition because he has reason to believe his soul partner is too traumatized from last nights events to really handle being by all of the dominants in the family. This and he hates his sibling's soul partners. He doesn't want their awful behavior rubbing off on Yuno.

Thus he settles for a quiet dinner between the two of them when he does return. Nozel doesn't mind it, despite it being a major break from tradition. Nozel is still keeping in line with one area of tradition.

Tomorrow afternoon, he will return to Hage to ask Yuno's primary keeper for permission to bond Yuno.

* * *

The ride over to Hage isn't as urgent as his first trip over. This is a pleasant thing for him to go through at the moment, especially seeing as how he has Yuno with him to go ask for the permission to bond. 

In Silva tradition, the submissive comes along with the dominant to ask for permission to bond. This is done in two stages: first, the submissive describes their current standing with their soul partner to the primary keeper and second, the dominant speaks to the keeper alone to request permission for bonding.

By the time they arrive it is high noon and all the children are outside playing. This, luckily enough, includes Nash. Nash is Yuno's primary keeper, which means Nash is the one Nozel will have to speak to. 

(Yes, Yuno had to remind him his name is Nash.)

When they do land, everyone is staring at Yuno in awe, the first words he hears are, "Wow, Yuno, you can fly on a broom?"

He had been given a broom by Nozel only hours before they left. Since his magic is wind magic, flying came naturally to him on the first try. 

He nods proudly, keeping his calm all the while he speaks, "Yes I can, it's easy, really."

Nozel sees Nash and approaches him with a simple question, "May we speak in private?"

Nash nods to this, feeling anxious around Nozel even now but he keeps his composure well enough, "Sure. We can head inside the church."

Once they are both inside the empty church, Yuno tells Nash, "I know you won't believe me, but...I like being by Nozel."

Considering these are the first words Yuno said to him all day, Nash is taken aback, "...Really?"

"He keeps the leery and creepy dominants away...he listens to me and he allowed me to use a broom! Luck was talking about locking me up in a sex dungeon for a year; he wouldn't have ever allowed me to be on a broom, not many dominants would. They don't like submissives being able to fly or have any form of independence." Yuno sighs then, getting back on track, "Please allow the bond to happen. He's a great dominant."

Nash nods slowly, "I'll think about it, Yuno."

Yuno then leaves for them to be alone. Nozel had told him on the ride over he'd need to do this as it is a part of Silva tradition.

Right when Yuno heads outside, he sees a dominant he knows to be a local noble. This is the guy who tried to hit on him right when he and Nash returned to Hage after his failed courtship with the Wizard King.

"Hello, submissive! Miss me?" he greets Yuno boldly with a hand grabbing his wrist roughly.

Yuno begins to pull away, but it's of no use. The other is built strong unlike him, "No, I didn't. Why are you here?"

The blonde noble's smile darkens then as his true intention comes out, "No way in hell am I allowing a rare to slip through my fingers! I'm here to bond you, submissive."

The very second he gets too close, Yuno reacts with a shooting the strongest orb of wind he's ever shot at anyone before at the dominant mage. It sends him flying for at least a good mile away. Yuno smiles as he resumes doing what he wanted to do originally: sit down and talk to Sister Lilly.

He asks her something that has been on his mind after regaling his tale of the banquet and the...activity that happened yesterday, "Is it normal that I felt fine with him doing that to me so soon after what the noble man did to me at the ball?"

"People cope differently, Yuno. So long as he wasn't manipulating or pressuring you into this, you aren't wrong or abnormal for liking what he did to you so soon after what happened." the nun explains with a soothing smile.

Yuno is about to thank her when Nozel exits the building with Nash, his stance proud as day as he says, "He approved of the bonding. You can say your goodbyes, but we should be heading back. I don't want to hold off the bonding for much longer."

Yuno thanks Sister Lilly in his goodbye to her and he even thanks Nash. Unfortunately, Father was gone on an errand when they came over so he couldn't see the man again. He will be sure to visit him as soon as he can after the bonding, though. This would be to mainly assure him he's fine and safe with Nozel.

As they are heading back to their home, Nozel explains how he got Nash to agree to the bonding so fast.

* * *

When alone with Nozel, Nash sighs as he tells him, "Listen, I'm sure you're a nice guy who makes Yuno happy...but Yuno is a rare and I want him bonded to the Wizard King or nothing at all."

Nozel finds this strange, so he tells him, "You do know I am royalty correct?"

Nash scoffs to this, his tone mocking, "Sure and you're not king because...why, again? I'm sorry, but Yuno deserves a king and you're not a king."

Things are silent for a good solid minute before Nozel comments casually, "Ah, that's why you were going to break the law and sell him off to a king in a foreign land! Heavily illegal, by the way, and since I am royalty...my word will automatically trump yours."

Nash caves then with a worrying eye, "Alright, alright! You can bond him."

"Really? I'm finally good enough?"

"Ah nonsense, don't be silly! You were always good enough, please, be my guest, bond him."

Nozel heads over to the door then, a smug look in his eyes as he replies, "I'm glad we reached an understanding."

* * *

Yuno isn't shocked or horrified by what he's heard. If of anything, he'd be more surprised if he didn't have to resort to such measures with Nash. 

As they finally arrive home, Yuno finds himself not feeling scared or nervous about the bonding. Instead, he feels...relaxed. He feels relaxed and ready for this.

He keeps this feeling as Nozel leads him into his bedroom and they start kssing until they fall on the bed with it's silk and satin sheets and solid gold bed frame. By the time it's over, Yuno has a mark on his hand Nozel takes the time to explain to him. He finds the Silva family crest mark comforting and oddly sweet that he would give him a rather precious family heirloom of sorts. 

He finds himself anticipating his future as a Silva. Who knows what will happen next? It's an exciting new chapter for him he can't wait to explore.


End file.
